Innovation From Textechno
Textechno nears 60 years as a producer of textile testing instruments.
TW Special Report
S
ince the company was founded in 1949 by engineer Herbert Stein, Germany-based Textechno
GmbH & Co. KG has striven to react to the changing needs of the textile industry and develop
textile testing products that offer the latest in technical possibilities. The company first made
its mark on the textile industry when it presented the Stein’s cher Messkopf low-displacement
force-sensing device for measuring tensile and compressive forces. This new measurement device
became a standard part on Textechno’s existing testing instruments and went on to be an important
component of many Textechno semi- and fully-automatic tensile testers.
Building on its innovations of the past 50-plus years, the company introduced several new
products recently at ITMA 2007 in Munich, Germany.
Textechno is exclusively represented in the United States by Greenville, S.C.-based
Measured Solutions Inc.
Statimat DS
Textechno’s Statimat DS is a multipurpose machine capable of performing tensile strength
according to the constant rate of elongation principle, unevenness and yarn/thread count tests all
on one machine and in succession on the same sample package. Textechno also offers an optional
optical entanglement sensor to measure interlaces in a multifilament yarn.
The machine can measure tensile strength in either a static or alternating load mode, and can
also perform creep and relaxation tests.
Statimat DS features a new capacitor system for capacitive mass unevenness testing. The test
is run in accordance with the ISO 16549 standard, and the machine can accommodate a wide range of
yarn counts.
During the yarn count test, a preselected yarn length, from 1 to 1,000 meters, is delivered
into a collection chamber to be weighed.
According to the company, the Statimat DS offers the user both time and cost savings. One
test protocol presents all measured data so they can easily be compared and additional
calculations, such as tenacity, can be performed.
Dynajet
Textechno’s Dynajet tester is designed to look for weak spots on running yarns and threads at
high speeds of up to 1,000 meters per minute. This monitoring method allows a manufacturer to look
at all the yarn produced, rather than just a small test section of 500 meters or less. The yarn
passes through the Dynajet test section — where it is subjected to a constant tensile force that
can be set to mimic manufacturing process conditions — into a casablanca-type feeding device, which
transfers the yarn to a suction orifice. If the yarn breaks, the machine immediately stops to allow
for rethreading.
The number of weak spots measured during the test can be used to calculate the anticipated
number of yarn breaks in downstream processing. The manufacturer can use these data to modify the
manufacturing process to reduce the number of weak and thin spots in the yarn.
Fibrotest
Textechno’s Fibrotest dual-purpose instrument measures both fiber length and fiber strength
in succession. After testing, the machine also measures the sample size between the clamps so the
exact tenacity can be calculated. Fibrotest features an optical system with high lateral resolution
that compensates for fiber mass variation along the sample holder. The machine measures both
variables in less than 30 seconds.
LCT
Textechno recently took over worldwide marketing for the LengthControl (LCT) tester,
originally developed by Germany-based Trützschler GmbH & Co. KG. A portable device designed for
use in the spinning mill, LCT measures fiber length on samples taken from a sliver or raw cotton
tuft. The instrument also analyzes fiber hooks, short-fiber length, short-fiber content and staple
gradient. LCT measurements can be used to optimize card, draw frame and comber settings.
March/April 2008